The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse

The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter . The tale is based on the Aesop fable, "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse", with details taken from Horace's Satires 2.6.79-117. It tells of a country mouse and a city mouse who visit each other in their respective homes. After sampling the other's way of life, both express a decided preference for their own. The book was critically well received.

Timmy Willie is a country mouse who falls asleep in a hamper of vegetables after eating peas and is carried to the city. When the hamper is opened, Timmy escapes to find himself in a large house. He slips through a hole in the skirting board and lands in the midst of a mouse dinner party hosted by Johnny Town-mouse.

Timmy is made welcome – and tries his best to fit in, but finds the noises made by the house cat and the maid frightening and the rich food difficult to digest and feels ill. He returns via the hamper to his country home after extending an invitation to Johnny Town-mouse to visit him.

The following spring, Johnny Town-mouse pays Timmy Willie a visit. He complains of the dampness and finds such things as cows and lawnmowers frightening. He returns to the city in the hamper of vegetables after telling Timmy country life is too quiet. The tale ends with the author stating her own preference for country living.